Jewelers Mutual unveils new brand campaign

June 1, 2006byWilliam George Shuster

Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. has unveiled a new marketing endeavor designed to reinforce its brand in the jewelry industry while expanding its coverage in it. The campaign features a new slogan (“Coverage You Can Count On. People You Can Count On”), new ads focusing on actual policyholders and a new logo.

The new brand and ad campaign was presented by Jewelers Mutual officials on Wednesday in Las Vegas, at a reception during the Luxury by JCK show (May 30-June 2). The company, established in 1913, is the only one specializing in insuring the jewelry industry and individual owners of jewelry.

The new ad and marketing campaign materials features long-time policyholders in casual settings—such as Brookfield, Wis., jeweler Michael Straub, in jeans and leather jacket with his motorcycle or jewelry designer Scott Kay with his dog ‘Sting’—giving brief testimonials about why they “can count on” Jewelers’ Mutual’s coverage and people. One of the two-page ads also features Jewelers Mutual president Darin Kath (with his guitar) and a Jewelers Mutual agent.

“Personal relationships are at the core of the jewelry industry and our company,” said Kath. “We’ve been a partner in the jewelry industry for nearly a century, and developed close relationships within it. That includes our policyholders, agents and employees.”
So, in the new marketing campaign, “We wanted to show the human side of our business and convey our brand message, which is that Jewelers Mutual is synonymous with coverage you can count on and people you can count on.”

Jewelers Mutual also hopes the campaign will expand its market among upscale jewelers and high fashion jewelry manufacturers. That’s one reason why fine jewelers like Traditional Jewelers or a designer like Scott Kay are featured in the campaign.

“We want to be perceived as a firm capable of insuring the ‘couture jeweler’ as well Mom and Pops,” said Kath. “If couture jewelers see that people like Scott Kay are long-time policyholders of Jewelers Mutual, it will catch their attention. We want to raise our visibility for all the industry.”

The new marketing campaign is the result of a year-long strategic evaluation in 2005 by Jewelers Mutual of its brand, and its reputation within the industry. Several research initiatives, including in-depth interviews with policyholders and others in the industry, were conducted to “ensure the company’s products and services continue to meet the needs of an ever-changing jewelry environment,” said a company statement.

In those interviews, says the company, two phrases were often repeated which became the basis for the new campaign: coverage you can count on” and “people you can count on.”

The company hired Luxury brand Group, a marketing specialist firm, to help create the campaign, which features four double-page ads featuring policyholders and also Jewelers Mutual representatives. The include Michael Straub and Kimberly Straub Wilhelm of Treiber and Straub Jewelers, Brookfield, Wis.; Scott Kay, award-winning jewelry designer and manufacturer; Marion and Lula Halfacre, of Traditional Jewelers, Newport, Cal., and their children Erik and Natalie; Kath, and Karen Signorino, a Jewelers Mutual agent.

The campaign will run through the end of 2007 and can be seen in leading jewelry trade magazines. It will also feature other jewelry professionals, the company says, to show that Jewelers Mutual’s represents the full spectrum of jewelry business, including retail manufacturing, design, appraisal and repair.